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Editor's note: An earlier version of this story misspelled defense attorney Benjamin Collett's surname. The story below has been updated.

The murder trial for Louis Sebastian, accused of a fatal shooting in a downtown Boulder restaurant, resumed Tuesday with testimony from the three men who restrained and disarmed Sebastian after the shooting.

Sebastian, 33, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Christopher King, 49. He also is charged with carrying a concealed weapon without a permit.

Sebastian and King met at a croquet party on May 28, 2017, and then went with a group of other partygoers to Bramble & Hare, 1970 13th St. Witnesses in the group said Sebastian and King began to argue before going outside.

Diner Dominick Paoloni had been sitting next to the door when he heard the gunshots and then saw a man come in to the building and noticed a wound on his back.

"It was a hole with blood pouring out of it," Paoloni testified Tuesday. "Clear as day."

Paoloni said the man said something to the effect of "Are you kidding me, man?" before falling down.

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"I heard him collapse, but as he collapsed that's when the second gentleman walked in," Paoloni. "He looked over, he pointed the gun, and he fired."

Brian Daniels, a chef at Bramble & Hare in 2017, said the night of the shooting he was in the kitchen next to an open window that led to 13th Street. Daniels said the window allows him to hear what goes on outside the restaurant, but said he did not hear any arguments before shots rang out.

Then-Bramble & Hare Chef Brian Daniels describes what he saw the night of the May 29, 2017, shooting inside the restaurant. He helped restrain Louis Sebastian, who is accused of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Christopher King. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

"I immediately turned and started to run through the bar and into the dining room," Daniels said. "I recognized them (the sounds) as gunshots and wanted to put myself in the situation on the street. When I got into the dining room, I saw Sebastian pointing the gun at Chris King."

Daniels, who was in the Marine Corps for five years, said he shoved Sebastian toward a wall and was able to twist the gun out of his hand.

Bramble & Hare bartender Griffin Farro and Paoloni also helped to restrain Sebastian. Farro testified he was able to get Sebastian's arms locked while Paoloni went low to try to get Sebastian to the ground.

"He was in a rage, he was definitely super strong," Paoloni said. "I couldn't move his legs."

Daniels said once he had the gun, he saw the magazine was no longer in the weapon. He said Sebastian was still struggling to get free.

"I decided it was necessary to shut him down even more so," Daniels said. "I struck him in the face with the butt of the weapon."

Daniels said he believed that blow was the cause of the injury to Sebastian's eye and lip. He testified he then stowed the weapon in his car until police arrived and took it into their possession.

Prosecutors asked all three witnesses about Sebastian's demeanor during the incident. Daniels described him as "cold," and "very purposeful," while Paoloni described him as "exasperated but definitely calm" and Farro described him as "focused."

"He was not looking at anyone else in the room," Farro said.

Dr. John Carver, the forensic pathologist, was the last prosecution witness and testified he observed four penetrating gunshot wounds to King. Two of them were front-to-back wounds in his torso, one was front-to-back and entering King's shoulder and exiting his lower back, while the fourth went through King's right buttock and out the front of his right thigh.

Carver also testified he did not observe any wounds on King's hand except for a minor abrasion on one of his fingers.

Self-defense

The prosecution rested its case after lunch, and the defense's first witness was Dan Montgomery, a former Colorado police chief and a consultant who was qualified as an expert in use-of-force tactics over the objection of prosecutors, who felt his testimony was not appropriate, since no law enforcement officers were involved.

Defense attorney Benjamin Collett asked Montgomery about when shooting in self-defense would be appropriate for a police officer.

"In a case where they sincerely and really feel they are about to be killed or seriously injured, they can use lethal force to stop that threat," Montgomery said. As to how many shots would be appropriate, Montgomery said the officer should shoot until the threat was "stopped," noting, "people can be shot several times and still advance and be a threat."

But on cross-examination, Boulder County District Attorney Michael Dougherty painted a hypothetical scenario for Montgomery — who did not know the facts of this particular case — in which an officer fired at a person who then ran away and fell to the ground.

"They're not a threat when they went down, unless they were armed," Montgomery said, adding it would be "hard to justify that as a professional."

But on re-cross, Collett amended the hypothetical to say the victim had previously threatened the shooter and attacked him from behind. Montgomery said that had to be taken into account, but still said the officer in the hypothetical should also have considered nonethal force.

New defense witness

Outside the presence of the jury, Boulder District Judge Andrew Hartman advised Sebastian of his right to either testify or refuse to take the stand, and told him to consider his options.

In addition, the defense moved to endorse a last-minute firearms expert to offer rebuttal testimony to an earlier witness, Colorado Bureau of Investigation Agent Dale Higashi.

Higashi earlier in the week testified one of the shells recovered on scene had damage consistent with a "stove-pipe" malfunction that would have required the shooter to take a few extra steps to clear the gun before continuing to fire.

While Hartman acknowledged it was prejudicial to the prosecution, he said the issue was an important one and said he would allow the witness. He added he would allow the prosecution to recall Higashi or another similar witness to rebut the defense expert if they wanted.

"The issue here is the 'stove piping' is extremely relevant to the 'mens rea,' or to the intent," Hartman said.

Bramble & Hare bartender Griffin Farro testifies about what he saw the night of a May 29, 2017, shooting inside the restaurant. He helped restrain Louis Sebastian, who is accused of first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of Christopher King. (Cliff Grassmick / Staff Photographer)

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